


Grounding

by planetstardream



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Octo Expansion DLC Spoilers, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, chuchu has a bad time, jewel is a good sister, pls help him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 16:05:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17984303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planetstardream/pseuds/planetstardream
Summary: For a pair of Octoling twins, getting to the surface was well worth the pain they had to endure.That that being said, the hardships they faced sure did leave some lasting scars, and they'd make themselves known when least expected.





	Grounding

**Author's Note:**

> (sorry for any weird formatting posting from my phone)  
> is my octosnibblings yeehAWS  
> there are octo expansion spoilers so dont read if you havent played/seen videos of it! now quick rundown again (ill probably make a 'fic' for this dhdjd)
> 
> Real name spoiler; prefers Churi/Chu/Chuchu)  
> Age- ~22  
> Hairstyle- Default (Punk)  
> Natural Color- Pink  
> Eyes- Silver (Blue when under stress/intention to kill)  
> Weapon- Kensa .52 Gal  
> Headgear- Octoglasses  
> Clothing- Annaki Drive Tee  
> Shoes- Punk Blacks
> 
> Real name spoiler; prefers Jewel  
> Age- ~22  
> Hairstyle- Default (Tentacurl)  
> Natural Color- Pink  
> Eyes- Dark Grey (Blue when under stress/intention to kill)  
> Weapon- Kensa Charger  
> Headgear- House Tag Denim Cap  
> Clothing- Annaki Evolution Tee  
> Shoes-Neo Octoling Boots
> 
> one more thing! for future reference octarian speak will be in <>! now lesgoooo

The sun was bright and the seagulls soaring above lent their voices to the music blaring in the distance as they passed over New Albacore Hotel. The land below was stained with green and purple ink, a Tower Control match was underway. The two teams made their way to the center to see who could claim the tower first, with two members from the purple team splitting off to the side. On one side, an Octoling surfaced from her ink and took aim with her Kensa Charger, successfully flicking upwards and sniping an unsuspecting opponent.

  
"Nice, nice." She smiled in satisfaction as she adjusted her House-tag Denim Cap and leaped onto a ledge nearby to take aim at anyone who dared to come close.

  
One the opposite side emerged a second Octoling, Kensa .52 Gal in hand as he threw down a Splash Wall for his teammates to cover behind. It also served as a good distraction, as it allowed him to swim around the wall and take out the two Inklings trying to break through the wall.

  
"Booyes!" He did a slight fist pump in the air, his teammates returning the gesture with a 'Booyah!' back as they went to claim the tower. One of the purple Inklings hummed in her ink as the tower moved along the rail, the Octoling boy drifting around in case someone were to move to take the tower.  
As the tower reached the first checkpoint, the green team made their move, with one climbing up the tower and splatting the hiding Inkling before she had a chance to counterattack. At this sudden ambush, the Octoling resurfaced from his ink and made his way up, before falling back at the sound of something slicing through the air. He had narrowly avoided a Splashdown courtesy of another green Inkling super jumping to his teammate on the tower.

  
"Jewel!" The boy called out before he let out a surprised yelp, a third Inkling with a roller appearing behind him and splatting him. Jewel gasped as she went to take aim and sniped the roller, only to fall victim to a Splattershot user who managed to sneak behind her while she was distracted.

  
The Octolings took longer to respawn due to their clothing having Respawn Punisher and the girl got up, shaking the excess ink from her head.

  
"Damn, got us good... <You ok, Chu?>" she asked, lifting her brother off the ground.

  
"<Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.>" Churi responded, flipping a tentacle out of his face with the back of his hand. "<We're gonna have to work harder, that was basically a team wipe.>" He tugged Jewel by her arm and whispered into her ear, earning a small nod before she set out from her spawn. Churi lingered at the spawn himself for a bit before diving into the ink and slinking away, going to claim more turf.

  
As the girl moved, she threw out a sprinkler to the side of the wall as a distraction and charged a shot, holding it as she dove and swam to a comfortable spot before reforming and shooting a green Inkling off the tower. She hummed contently before swimming to a different area and repeating the action, picking off another opponent as she watched two of her teammates begin to close in on the tower. She stole a quick glance at the watch-like device on her wrist and saw an image of an octopus turn from purple to an array of bright colors. Perfect.

  
"Chu, now!" She called, the Octoling in question shooting from the ink he was in and rose into the air, arm up to form a ball of ink and energy. The orb grew larger as his teammates cheered him on and he launched it at the tower, splatting the two who had control and chasing off the last one who tried to get close. He grinned in satisfaction as he dove into the ink and swam up the tower, the railing turning purple as he made contact with the platform, causing it to move towards the opposite direction.

  
Churi then froze as he stared at the tower, a music box-like tune flowing into his ears. They twitched once, twice, as the more he listened to it, the more familiar it became. Suddenly memories flashed into his head, flooring him with how vivid they had become—

  
_It was so dark and cold, he had to press on. Just a few more stations and he could find Jewel and they could get out of this hellhole. He remembers banging on the glass walls of a giant machine, panic filling his veins as he looked at his sister, who was equally unnerved as the roar of the blades above drew closer, a cheery melody ringing out alongside it as if mocking their desperate attempts to flee. It wasn’t fair, they were so close to freedom, he didn’t want them to die—_

  
_Everything went dark when the sound of broken glass was heard._

  
Churi let out a loud scream as he scrambled back and fell onto the ground and on his back, curling up into a tight ball. The Inkling who had been chased off had returned and was on the tower, ready to take aim with her Splattershot. Once Jewel looked up and saw the scene, she realized what was going on and yelled as loud as she could.

  
"Stop, everyone stop!! There's something wrong, he's not ok!!" The battle seemed to halt as she jumped from her spot and ran towards the cowering Octoling, slowing into a careful walk before she knelt down near him. “Chu?"

  
She watched as his eyes shot open, the usually silver irises now taking on a vivid, almost unnatural shade of blue. She knew that color, she possessed it as well. Any sudden movement could potentially cause him to lash out in fear and lethally poison someone. She gave a gentle smile as she held out her hand. "It's me, Chu. Would you like to give me your hand?"

  
Churi stared at the outstretched hand before slowly taking it, letting her pull him into a sitting position. He kept his fear-filled eyes trained to the ground, breathing erratically as she took his other hand and rubbed circles on the backs with her thumbs.

  
"Deep breath. In..." She watched as her brother did as instructed. "Now out..." she continued to rub circles as he continued the slow breathing before speaking up. "<Ready to try our method?>" Churi nodded slowly. "<Ok. Five.>" The boy's eyes flickered around nervously, taking in the sights. It was bright. Sunny. Nothing like the murky depths of the underground.

  
"<Uh... I see you... Our teammates… Ink everywhere.. Birds, and.. t-the tower.>" Jewel nodded.

  
"<Good, that's good. Four.>" She let the Octoling let go of one of her hands to start tracing his fingers along what he could.

  
"<I feel your hand.. The ink, your ribbon, and.. my weapon.>" From the corner of her eyes, she could see the Inklings approach slowly, concern in their eyes. For now, she had to focus on her brother.

  
"<Good. Three.>" Churi's ears twitched.

  
"<I can hear birds.. music, and jellyfish..>" The male took another breath, letting his eyes fall shut. When they opened, the color had dulled down to that familiar silver, a hint of blue mixed in. Jewel smiled, patting his hand gently.

  
"<Two?>" she asked this time, to see if he would like to continue. She caught his nose twitching, and it was confirmation enough for her.

  
"<I smell the sea and... a barbecue..>" Churi looked up at her in an almost timid manner, eyes now a pure silver. "<I kinda want barbecue right now..>" Jewel smiled in relief, patting his shoulder with a free hand.

  
"<We can call up the others and have a little barbecue party later. Sound good?>"

  
The boy nodded slowly, letting go of his sister’s hand to brush a limp tentacle out of his face and behind his ear.

  
"<'m sorry.. I don’t feel like playing anymore..>" he murmured lowly. Jewel smiled and gave a reassuring pat on his head before looking up at the other Inklings.

  
"My apologies, but he's not doing well right now. Would it be alright if we reschedule this match for another day? If you'd like to play without us, that's alright too." She asked, tilting her head. The roller from the green team was the first to speak up.

  
"No problem, man! It wouldn't be fair if we beat y’all in this condition." He gave a playful wink. "But seriously, go chill out and get some rest. Hope ya feel better." He looked over at Churi, who rose his head and offered a weak smile as Jewel pulled him to his feet. He turned to the group and gave a weak bow.

  
"Thank you, it's very much appreciated." He said softly before he let his sister guide him out and back into the lobby.

* * *

  
Churi sat on the bench outside, hands in his face as he groaned. He felt something on his lap and peeked between his fingers to see Lil Judd perched and he smiled weakly, lowering his hands to gently hold and pet the cat. Jewel took a seat next to them, phone in hand.

  
"<Just got off the phone with the others, they’ll let us know when they're free. How're you fairing?>" she tilted her head at him.

  
"<I feel like ass.>" Churi sighed. "<But thanks for that. I dunno what I'd do without you sometimes.>"

  
"<Oh c'mon now don’t be saying things like that! We look after each other no matter what, you know this!>" Jewel poked his forehead. Churi offered a weak smile before looking down, watching the small cat peek up at him.

  
"<...We almost couldn't be here.>" he breathed quietly. "<We could've died so easily, so gruesomely... Could've been sanitized... Never get a chance to see Inkopolis, meet Ritchie and Susie, or get a chance to befriend Bailey after spending all that time fighting him in the Valley... There could've been no Inkopolis. It could’ve all gone so wrong...>" Jewel stayed quiet before reaching and tapping his Octoglasses, causing them to fall in front of his eyes and the bridge landing smack on his nose. "Ow--"

  
"<I know, Chu, but look around. We're here in Inkopolis. We could've died or been sanitized, but we weren’t. We've gotten to Inkopolis and made so many friends. We're safe and we're in a much happier place than our old home. We’re ok.>" she smiled softly. Churi looked up at her, staring for a moment before smiling lightly as she continued. "<I know the trauma's not gonna go away anytime soon; Hell, I feel it myself sometimes! But I know we'll get through it together.>"

  
Jewel opened her arms slightly and Churi leaned over, the two sharing a quick hug and letting their cheeks press together with a content purr before the girl's phone went off. She let go to check her messages and smiled.

  
"<Ah, there they go! They want us to meet over at Wahoo Park, they know a quieter place nearby for the barbecue.>"

  
"<Ohhhh, nice!>" Churi got up and planted an exaggerated kiss on Lil Judd's forehead before setting him ontop of the sleeping Judd and hopping to his feet. "<I hope they have those little shrimps, I'm craving them so badly..>"

  
"<I’m sure they do. Better hurry before Bailey eats them all.>" Jewel giggled at her brother's distressed reaction before following after him. Despite the hardships they’ve faced, they were still here living their happiest life.

  
It was all either of them could ask for.

**Author's Note:**

> honestly im getting a backlog of fics for my characters and im about to lose my mind figuring out how to group them here since theyre not rly connected in a linear storyline o(-(


End file.
